This invention pertains to a specialized shoe to be worn on one's foot or prosthetic limb to assist one in maneuvering. Motor, neural, orthopedic, and ambulatory disabilities or injuries can hinder a person's ability of motion normally exercised while walking, running, or standing. For example, persons suffering from a brain or body injury will often have the ability to effectively use only one leg. When walking, such persons will typically place weight on their disabled leg while stepping forward with their less impaired leg. Thereafter, the person will typically shift their weight onto their “good or uninvolved” leg, while dragging their impaired leg forward on the ground. The process is repeated to provide the person with mobility.
Presently, there does not exist an aid for assisting persons to walk which is inexpensive, unobtrusive and easy-to-use. Instead, disabled persons, such as stroke victims or intensive care patients, must rely on cumbersome crutches, canes, or other persons for assistance while standing and walking. Accordingly, there is a significant need for a tool, such as a specialized shoe for enabling one to drag or propel a foot without friction while providing a stable platform which assures sure footing when body weight is applied.
With regards to specialized shoes, there exists only recreational roller-skate and roller-skate-like devices which provide lockable wheels for uninterrupted skating ability. These known specialized shoes would be hazardous to a person with a disability whose need centers upon safe maneuvering.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,406,038 to Adams discloses a shoe with a wheel that can be conveniently converted from a shoe to a wheeling device, but requires that the wheel be purposefully and actively retracted and locked into place. Such devices cannot automatically respond to the special needs of disabled or injured persons needing immediate support or rehabilitative therapy. In addition, such apparatus requires a learned skill of balance, positioning, and coordination.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,928,982, to Logan describes a shoe having rotatable wheels attached to the underside of the shoe's sole. The wheels are extendable and retractable. When retracted, the shoes are used for walking. When extended, the shoes function in similar fashion to a roller skate, allowing the wearer to roll or skate on a walking surface. However, the shoes require that the wheels lock in either orientation, and thus are not suitable for use by a disabled person who has trouble walking.
Another example of a specialized roller shoe is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 3,351,353, to Weitzner. This reference describes a convertible roller skate or ice skate which may be converted into a walking shoe. This shoe is limited by the same disadvantage, discussed above, in that the blade or wheels, which are normally housed within a recess, require the wearer to manually withdraw the blade or wheels and lock these mechanisms to the sole of the shoe by fastener elements.
Unfortunately, though prior roller shoes are useful for enabling persons to maneuver quickly, they are not useful to a person needing to selectively drag a foot but immediately use the same foot for support. Notably, previously known wheels, which are attached at the bottom of one's shoe, were designed to not flex or yield in response to pressure asserted by the wearer. Nor do previous designs concern a mechanism by which rolling members automatically return to a predisposed position. Furthermore, these devices do not permit the rolling mechanism to be fully removed from the shoe, leaving a conventional shoe intact. Lastly, previous designs of specialized footwear clearly require that any array of wheels attached to the bottom of a shoe must be arranged in a linear array and should encompass the entire length and area of the foot and not just one localized area of the foot.